


Bury Me in Angel Wings

by BloodyRoses (orphan_account)



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, Gen, Gender Identity, Gender Issues, Genderqueer Character, M/M, Other, Probably more tags as this goes on, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-03-20 22:57:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3668325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/BloodyRoses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank, Gee and Mikey. Three best friends, always have been, always will be. </p><p>Gee is the fucked up kid that still smiles, 'cause, hey maybe being fucked isn't so bad. </p><p>Frank just wants to keep Gee safe. And maybe play in a band and leave the shitty town he grew up in where nothing happens, ever.</p><p>Mikey's willing to look past all of Gee's flaws because Gee is perfect. He thinks that Gee could be the voice of a generation if they decide to leave the house every once in a while.</p><p>Or, gender, feels and general high school bullshit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bulletproof Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This came from a dream I had ( it involved Frank Iero, my dad asking me about FOB, and four Minotaurs), a question I had (What if an MtF woke up one day feeling like a guy?), waking up with the line “I feel fucking beautiful today” stuck in my head and listening to Fall Out Boy's Take This to Your Grave, My Chemical Romance's I Bought You My Bullets, You Bought Me Your Love and Bratmobile's Ladies, Women and Girls too many times to count. I hope you enjoy this crazy thing from my psycho mind.  
> Let me know if I should continue. Updates will be really fucking slow if I do. Also, this was originally meant to be a one shot, if anybody cares.

“I feel fucking beautiful today.” Gee is standing in front of the mirror, admiring herself.  
  
“You look fucking beautiful,” Frank says from the bed. She turns and smiles at him and that makes Frank's day. It's strange, a simple facial expression can make him feel. He likes it. Gee plops down on the bed next to Frank, her arms stretched above her head making her Iron Maiden shirt ride up, her long black hair tickling Frank's neck as she tucks her head under his chin. Frank giggles.  
  
“I know,” she says and Frank nods, because, duh, of course she knows. Why wouldn't she? She sighs, and it's a happy sigh, a content sigh, an I-never-want-this-to-end sigh. And Frank smiles at it.  
  
“When's your mom coming home?”  
  
“Two days.” She sounds sad when he says it and Frank knows she doesn't want her mom to know, knows that she'll have to take the makeup off and give Lindsey's skirt back, he knows she'll have to pretend to be a guy and answer to Gerard and feel terrible everyday, not because she hates her body (she loves it, she's told him multiple times) but because nobody but Frank, Mikey and Lindsey know. He's sorry he bought it up, so he reaches down to tickle Gee's stomach, sending her into a fit of giggles.  
  
“STOP, NO!” she shrieks, breathless and giggling. “Please, stop!” He finally stops, shit-eating grin in place. “You little shit,” Gee smiles.  
  
“Why, thank you,” he says.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Gee is sleeping over at Frank's house one night with Mikey, Ray and Bob. Everyone is snoring except Gee and Frank who're lying on their backs on the floor after losing a bet (and the bed).  
  
“I'm not a guy, Frank,” Gee whispers out of nowhere, waits for Frank to say something, probably twisting her Batman shirt around her finger, but he can't see in the dark. “I'm a girl,” she says after awhile.  
  
“I know,” he whispers back. She's told him a lot of times, and Frank thinks it's just to say it and have it be real and to know someone else knows. She tells him when too many people in one day have misgendered her and she just needs to tell him, she tells him when she can't take it anymore, she tells him when someone makes her doubt it and needs to hear someone confirm what she already knows, she tells him all the time when they're alone to remind herself when she looks like shit and not what she'd like to look like. “Are you going to tell anyone else yet?”  
  
“Eventually. I guess I should.”  
  
“Yeah, you should. I think you'd be happier if you did.”  
  
“I'm afraid though. What will they say? What if Mom hates me or disowns me?”  
  
“I'm not saying tell your mom 'cause yeah she could disown, maybe wait til you're older. But Ray and Bob and everyone else, they'd like to know, don't you think?” He rolls over to face her, propping his head up with his hand.  
  
“I will,” she says, a promise and determination in her voice, laced with underlying sadness. “Sometime soon.”  
  
“I think Mikey likes Alicia.” And just like that they're whispering about something else entirely.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
“Frankie?” His head snaps up at the nickname that he would kill anyone else for using.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I don't know how to explain this,” Gee sighs down the phone line, all of her usual confidence is gone from her voice. “I, I woke up today and I didn't feel like wearing the, the makeup or the skirt or a dress.”  
  
“Well, that's fine,” Frank says, confused. “I don't care if you don't wear makeup or any of that other shit, you're still a girl.”  
  
“No, it's different. It's like, I don't feel like a girl? Yeah, I think that's it.”  
  
“Oh,” he says. “Oh.” And it's all he can say, he knows what that could possibly mean and what Gee will say next.  
  
“What does that mean?” Yeah, he was right.  
  
“I don't know.”  
  
“What if I've been lying to myself and everyone else all this time? What if I never was a girl? What if-” Frank stops her, him, whatever, there because Gee is on the edge of breaking down.  
  
“Gee, whatever it means, it's fine. You haven't been lying to yourself. When you told me you were a girl, that was real. I saw it.”  
  
“But, but I've felt like a girl my whole life and, now, this comes and what does it even mean?” He can tell Gee's close to crying.  
  
“I don't know,” he sighs, wishing he could help, wishing he could make Gee feel better and help her/him understand. “I, we could do some research? I'm sure there's plenty of information on the internet, right?”  
  
“I, yeah, yeah there probably is,” Gee says, and Frank can tell he/she has calmed down considerably.  
  
“Do you want me to come over, or...”  
  
“Come over,” he/she whispers and it almost breaks his heart.  
  
“Yeah, okay, be there in five minutes.”  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
“So, I could be genderfluid. I guess? I don't know.” Gee is sitting on his/her bed, laptop on his/her legs with Frank next to him/her.  
  
“There's also bi-gender and, and demigirl,” Frank points out.  
  
“I, yeah, but, what if this is a one time thing? What if I don't feel like this anymore after today? Or what if I never feel like a girl ever again?”  
  
Frank gets it. Gee was so sure of what he/she is, now this happened and he/she is back to the start of it all and he/she has to find out what he/she is all over again.  
  
“It's okay, Gee. If this is a one time thing, it's fine. And if you never feel like a girl again, well, I mean, you're still Gee, right? It's not like an alien is taking your place.”  
  
“You don't know that,” she/he smirks.  
  
“I need to ask, 'cause this is kinda driving me a little crazy. Is it still she, or he or...”  
  
“Uh, I honestly don't know.” And Frank gets that, too. Gee's so used to _she_ , and wishing everyone would say _she_ , and having Frank and Lindsey and Mikey saying _she_ and now this happened and Gee doesn't know what to do. “Maybe, _they_...” she, _they_ say, scrolling down the page of gender-neutral pronouns.  
  
“Okay, so it's like 'this is Gee, they're awesome'?” Frank asks, studying the page.  
  
“Yeah, I guess. Sounds nice.”  
  
“You know you don't have to label this, right?”  
  
“I, yeah. I just wanna know if this is, like common or something or what.” They chew on their lip, eyes scanning the page.  
  
“Gee, you're not common. You're unique and different and you're making me give you the whole you're-unique-and-one-of-a-kind-and-perfect-and-be-yourself speech here.”  
  
They smile and lean their head against his chest.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
“Frank, it happened again,” Gee says, picking at their pants.  
  
“Wha-”  
  
“I feel like a guy again,” Gee clarifies. “Or not a guy, but not girl. I don't know.”  
  
“Oh.” And it's really all he can say.  
  
“Yeah.” Like they know exactly what Frank is thinking.  
  
“Huh.”  
  
“What am I gonna do?” Gee looks up at him, eyes pleading him for an answer. He doesn't have one. “I don't understand it, I thought, I thought I was a girl, but,” they gesture with their hands, “this and... What does it mean?”  
  
“I, I don't know, Gee.”  
  
“Gerard,” they snap. Frank is surprised, he thought they hated their name, they told him too many times to count.  
  
“Okay, Gerard,” he says tentatively.  
  
“Sorry,” they say, rubbing their forehead. “I'm just really... confused and shit and...”  
  
“No, 's'fine. I get it.”


	2. Rebel Rebel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had another dream that had no logic whatsoever and now I feel like updating.

Gee looks fantastic in the dress, at least to Frank. But Gee doesn't seem to think so. They're staring at the mirror in disgust. They just stand there for a while, eyes roaming. Finally, they tear the dress off and throw it across the room. They stalk over to the dresser in just their tights, pulling out a Misfits hoodie and throwing it over their head. Frank just sits on the bed, watching them.

They go over Frank and lay down next to him. "I'm sorry," they say. "I made you buy the dress and I can't even pretend to like it."

"It's okay. You can wear it some other time, I don't care."

"But, it, it used to be my favorite and now I can't stand how I look in it." They're about to cry, so Frank shushes them.

"It's okay. I don't care if you never wear it again. It doesn't mean anything to me. I just want you to be happy."

"I'm sorry," they say again, sniffing.

"For what?"

"For being fucked up, for...everything really."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Be sorry for everything. You can't be sorry for everything, it's not possible. Are you sorry Mikey was born? Or that you bought me that camera, 'cause I fucking love that thing."

"Well, no."

"Exactly."

They just rest together like that, Gerard curled up and Frank petting their head. It's nice. Frank doesn't want to let go.

~*~*~*~

Frank walked down the street with his hands shoved in his pockets. Technically, he's supposed to be in bed and if you asked his mom where he is, she'll say he's in his room (assuming she doesn't peek). But he's a teenager and sneaking out is what he does. Nobody needs to know, except maybe Gee and Mikey because they're all going to the lake that's on the other side of the hills. And Ray's coming too, but Frank thinks he's already there.

Frank slowly approaches the bedroom window on the side of the house. He taps three times on the screen before the curtains part. Mikey's face appears in the window.

"Hey, Frank," he whispers. "Gee, Frank's here," he says into the room. Gee's face appears next Mikey's.

They grin. "Ready?" they ask.

"Yeah," Frank says. Mikey nods and takes the screen off as quietly as possible. Gee throws their backpack over the ledge and Frank barely manages to catch it because it comes out of nowhere. He slings it over his shoulder as Gee swings both legs over and lands with a soft thump on the dried up dirt and nearly dead grass that lines the side of the house. Frank hands them their backpack as Mikey follows suit. Together they slip out of between the houses and onto the sidewalk and Mikey almost trips, but they're fine.

They stop in an alley so that Gee can take off the sweatpants they're wearing, revealing a pair of tights. They pull a skirt, one of Lindsey's that they never really gave back, out of their backpack and slip it on. They leave their hoodie on because it's cold out, but Frank is sure the shirt underneath isn't something most people would approve of a "boy" wearing. They stuff the pants into the pack, swing it over their shoulder and say, "It's she," while pushing past where Frank and Mikey are keeping watch, confident and in charge, and Frank is surprised that a change of clothes can change so much more. He doesn't question it. Instead, smiles. He likes this Gee.

They make it to the lake, where, sure enough, Ray is sitting already. When he sees them, he smiles. And then stops smiling. Frank's confused for a moment, until he sees Gerard. And then he's angry. He stomps over to Ray, shoving Gerard and Mikey out of the way.

"If you're going to be a dick about Gee, then I have no problem punching you in the face right here, right now," he says, towering over Ray only because Ray's sitting down.

"I- no... What?"

"If you're going to be a dick and not respect Gerard for who she is then I will punch you in the face."

"Frank, wait, stop." Gee's hand is on his shoulder. "Calm down." 

"I wasn't going to be a dick," Ray says, standing up. "I was just surprised-"

"Because you can't except her?" He's standing in front of Ray, glowering up at him.

"No, I-"

"Hey, Frank?" Mikey pulls him away, far away from Gee and Ray, where he can't hear what they're saying. "Let Gee explain," he says. "She can take care of herself, you don't have to defend her."

"I'm just sick of douchebags and and dickheads." Frank rubs his eyes and then pushes his hair out of his face. He makes a mental note to get it cut soon, which he'll probably forget about. He looks back at where Gee and Ray are. They've sat down again and Gee is doing that thing where she uses her hands more than her mouth to talk. Eventually, they walk over to where Frank and Mikey are. Gee plops down next to Frank and promptly leans back until she's laying down.

"So did Gee explain?" he asks.

"Yes."

"And?"

"And nothing. It's fine."

"Good." And he lays down next to Gee, who's watching the stars.

"Guys," she says.

"Hmmm?" He doesn't know for sure, but that may have been Mikey.

"Shut up and watch that shooting star." It's huge, bigger than any shooting star Frank has ever seen. He closes his eyes and makes a wish. Then he whispers it in Gee's ear:

"I wish the world wasn't full of a bunch of closed-minded pricks."

"Me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that got really sappy at the end. Sorry.  
> But anyWay, leave me a comment or something, because I love those. :)):):):):):):):):):):)


	3. I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really should just rename this as "The Fic That Only Gets Updated Once A Month When I Have Dreams That Make No Sense."

It's not like Frank's procrastinating, he's just doing something more important than homework. Becase, despite what his mom thinks, hanging out with Bob and Mikey will always be more important than school. And it's not like Bob and Mikey are procrastinating, they just have this really important movie they all need to watch. Together. In Gerard and Mikey's room. Even though they've seen the movie about a million times. Plus, Frank's brain needs a break from numbers. Okay, so maybe they're procrastinating. But that doesn't matter, because the movie is far more interesting than any of Frank's assignments that are due.

“Mikey!” Mrs. Way calls from the kitchen.

“What?” he shouts back.

“Can you come here for a moment? You too, Frank. And Bob.” Mikey sighs and detaches himself from the bed. Frank follows him, dragging Bob along.

“Yeah?” Mikey asks.

“Ray's mom called from the hospital. She said Gerard broke his foot.”

~*~*~*~

“How the fuck did you accomplish something so monumentally stupid?" Mikey asks as soon they get to Gerard's hospital bed, earning a few glares from passing nurses which he ignores.

“Nice to see you, too,” Gee grumbles from the bed.

“Yes nice to see you, love you, blah blah blah. Now how did you do this? I thought you were studying with Ray,” Mikey says. Frank snickers.

“He fell out of my bedroom window,” Ray says from the bedside. Gee looks down at their hands and blushes. “He was sitting on the ledge and he fell.” Frank thinks he's the only one that sees Gerard flinch when Ray says it. Maybe Mikey saw, too. 

“It doesn't matter,” Gee's mom says. “As long as you're fine.”

“Yeah, 'cause a broken foot is totally _fine_ ,” Gee mumbles, still angry at the wrong pronoun usage.

“Don't be like that.”

~*~*~*~*~

Gerard doesn't come to school for a couple of days after the foot incident. When they finally do, it's with crutches and a cast. Frank meets them in the hallway before classes, because that's what they do.

“Hey, how's your leg?”

“Better. Look at these cool ass crutches though. I can totally beat up anyone who messes with me. I could be like a ninja with crutches as my weapon.” Frank snickers. “Stop laughing! It's true! I can prove it.”

“No, no don't do that! I believe you, I promise.”

“Good, 'cause I would totally hit you.”

“Hey, did you really fall out the window or...”

“Nah," Ray says, coming up from behind them and not _giving them a warning._ Gee jumps, then nearly hits Ray in the shins. He dodges. "We were going to sneak out together and go to the mall while pretending to homework, because Dad grounded me. But Gee slipped and fell from the window." Frank really needs to stop snickering, but he can't help it.

~*~*~*~*~

It's easy to be happy when everything is perfect. But to be happy when shit is fucked up, that's something else. That's one of the many reasons Frank admires Gee. They're in the wrong body, hardly anybody uses the right pronouns, and they don't even have themself figured out like they used to. But they can still smile and have it be genuine. Frank would do anything to keep that smile on their face. So when they show up to his house near tears, Frank pulls them into his room and hugs them, glad his mom is still at work. Gee just stands there in his arms.

"What's wrong?" he asks after a while.

"Mom keeps pushing me to get a haircut, but I don't want one and she's asking why and I can't tell her." Gee buries their head in Franks shoulder. "She'll hate me, but I'm not her son, I never was. But she keeps using the wrong pronouns and buys me clothes I don't wanna wear. And it shouldn't piss me off 'cause I haven't told her, but it does. And I don't wanna tell her until I figure this out, but then once I figure it out it'll probably change again. And then I'll have to say all over again." They stop to draw a shaky breath and Frank takes that opportunity.

"Doesn't it constantly change? I mean it's, gender isn't static, right? Even I have days where it's like not _as_ masculine? I mean, not enough to where I'd want to present as a woman or like wear makeup or have people refer to me as she, but it's there."

"Yeah, that's why you're lucky. You don't have wake up in the wrong body, you don't feel the need to dress in a way that you're 'not supposed to.' You don't hate it when you have to go out because you know that every single person won't see you as you want them to and you know it shouldn't matter because nobody cares, they don't look twice and you're never going see them again, but it does matter, to you but no one understands."

"Gee, I'm sorry, so, so, so sorry." Because he doesn't know what else to say. He hugs them tighter. Because that's the only way he can think to get his message across. "You know what I think?" he says after a while.

"Hmm?"

"I don't think anybody is completely cis, but they're all taught to not question it and be what everyone expects of them, you know, peer pressure and all. But nobody is completely cis, they're varying degrees of cis, but not... you know. I don't even know what a guy or a girl means, other than physical body parts sometimes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, I used Gee and Frank to rant at the end.


	4. The World Is Ugly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a real short chapter, but it's something after the long wait. I'll try to update more often, I promise.

Frank wouldn't say he's jealous of Bert. He's just wary, and if he's honest, maybe he's a little bit overprotective of Gerard. Because Gee is fragile, they need protection. Frank doesn't want to have to look at them and see the heartbreak in their eyes. He doesn't want to have them go through that pain. 

When Frank first meets Bert, it's by accident. He doesn't mean to barge in on him and Gee leaning in towards each other. He just wants to show Gee the pictures he took. He stumbles out, mumbling half-heard apologies. He hears Bert chuckle and then Gee's bedroom door opens. She beckons him in. He obeys, because you don't disobey Gee. 

"So, Frank, I don't think you've met Bert," she says like the situation isn't totally awkward.

"N-no, I haven't," he says.

"Well, this is Bert," she says helpfully. "He's my friend."

"Uh huh," he nods dumbly. Bert just sits on Gee's bed. "Well, I-I'll see you later," Frank says. Then he turns and leaves before Gee can say anything. 

"Going so soon?" Mrs. Way asks from the kitchen. Frank just dashes out the front door. He can practically hear her frowning. He doesn't care though, he just wants to get away. Running, he's running now. When did that happen? His feet are carrying him somewhere, he lets them. He ends up at Bob's. Bob, level-headed Bob. He rings the doorbell. Bob answers it. Frank pushes past him, panting. He makes his way to Bob's room. Bob lets him sit there and catch his breath.

"What were you running from?" Frank squeezes his eyes shut against the inevitable question. He shakes his head. "Okay then. You wanna play video games?" He nods this time.

~*~*~*~*~

"I wasn't going to kiss him, y'know?" Gee says out of nowhere. Frank pauses the movie.

"Then what were you gonna do?"

"Tell him a secret."

"You sound like a little kid."

"Yeah, well..." She grabs the remote from him and presses _play._ They watch for a while before Frank speaks again.

"I don't think you should hang out with him," he says.

She frowns. "Why not?"

"Because." Frank doesn't know how to explain how he feels about Bert. He just can't see whatever relationship Gee has with him ending with anything but Gee hurt. Bert isn't what she needs right now. "Because, I don't think he'd be very accepting of the gender thing," he says, because it isn't everything, but it's part of it.

Her face falls.

"What does he think you are?"

"A girl." And the _Duh_ is dripping from her voice. "That's what I am."

Frank shakes his head. "You are a girl...most of the time, right now maybe. But not all the time."

"Are you doubting me, 'cause you sound real transphobic right now." She hesitates, then adds, "And how sure are you that I'm a girl right now, huh?"

"I'm not doubting you, you're what you say you are. And I'm not sure, I said maybe. What I'm trying to say is I don't think you hanging around Bert is a good idea. This isn't going to end well. You're gonna end up hurt."

"Bert isn't like that. You don't know him." She gets up. "I'm leaving. You can watch by yourself tonight." Frank just sighs and watches her leave. He doesn't try to stop her, because he knows that sometimes you can't save someone from falling, you just have to be there to help them up again.


	5. Disenchanted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, but it's summer break so I should be updating more often.

Frank isn't going to do it. He's not. 

He's lying. He's gonna do it. He's been sitting on the couch ever since Gee left, trying to convince himself that Gee's fine. But he can't shake the feeling that something's wrong. He's gonna do it. It's not a matter of if, but when. And apparently, when is five minutes after he decides he isn't gonna do it because he presses his thumb down onto the call button. He waits, praying that Mikey won't pick up because he's having second thoughts.

"What? I've got homework to do and my mom's gonna kill me if I don't finish this tonight." Of course Mikey had to pick up and of course he had to be busy. Frank's startled though and it takes him a few moments to regain his composure.

"Gee..." he chokes out. "Keep, keep Bert away from them." 

"They with you?"

Frank shakes his head, then remembers Mikey can't see him so he says, "No. No, I tried to tell her about, about Bert and she walked out. She doesn't like me right now." It hurts him to say it, because he cares about her. "I thought she went home."

"When did she leave?" 

"Like fifteen, twenty minutes ago."

"Well, if she's not here and she's not there, where is she?"

"Oh shit, she's at Bert's, isn't she? Please, call her. She isn't gonna answer if I call. Bert, Bert isn't good. He's gonna fuck her up." Frank's aware he's freaking out right now. He can't help it though, he's worried for Gee. He can't explain why he doesn't like Bert, he just knows he's going to do something and Gee won't be the same after it. Mikey sighs and Frank's secretly glad he's on his side.

"Okay. I'll call her."

"Thanks." Frank hangs up.

~*~*~*~

It takes a while, but it happens. Frank notices things, because he cares and because he's known Gee for too long. And maybe he's developed a habit of watching Gee. They smile less, stop wearing the skirts even when no one's around and don't talk to Frank as much. He can see they're hurting and he knows that it's because they're hiding again. And maybe they were always hiding, but they had shown Frank and Mikey and Lindsey so maybe they were never really comepletely hidden. But now they were hiding even from them. And it hurts Frank. But he doesn't try to talk to them about it because they talk so little and Frank doesn't want to lose the few times they do because Gee will push him away for a couple of weeks if he so much as mentions it.

He learns from Mikey that Gee and Bert started dating and every night he prays to the god he doesn't believe in to keep them safe. He thinks that maybe said god doesn't quite like him or just doesn't like Gee all that much because he sees the bruises on their wrists and he wonders. He wonders if there are more where he can't see. He wonders if it'll stop if he says something, but the one time he mentioned it they had begged him not to tell, and he listens to them. He wonders why they don't just leave. He reckons it's like a drug but he can't figure out how to get Gee to break away from it. He hates himself for it, but sometimes he thinks it could be worse.

He goes to school everyday and wonders if anyone else sees the way their shoulders hunch or their eyes stay down. Or the way their feet don't really seem to leave the ground when they walk, like they're too heavy. Like Gee's too exhausted to lift them. Maybe they're just tired, he thinks. Maybe it isn't Bert, he thinks. Maybe he's imagining it, he thinks.

Maybe he can save them, he thinks.

~*~*~*~

"Gee?"

"What?" They don't snap, they just sound worn out.

"You and Bert...?"

"No, he hasn't raped me like you seem to think." And they still don't sound angry, even though they probably should, he's insulting their boyfriend.

"What about...the bruises?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine." But they're not, because Frank sees them pull the sleeves of their oversize Misfits hoodie over their wrists. "Sometimes he's just a little rough. He doesn't mean it-"

"And the gender thing? What do you feel like," he waves his hand around in a meaningless gesture, "right now?"

Frank thinks that Gee is sick of hiding from him, and that's why they tell him. But maybe he's wrong. "He makes me feel bad about it," they say, ignoring Franks question. "He, he tells me I'm a guy, and maybe I am. I don't know anymore. The thing is, I'm starting to believe him." They look at him, biting their lip. "But, he's really nice. And I really like him. And he doesn't say it very often. I mean..." They just sound like they're trying make themself believe it.

Frank rubs their back. After a while he asks them what they feel like again. "And be honest," he tells them.

They think for a while before saying, "Nothing. Frankie, I don't feel like anything." And they're smiling like they just discovered the secrets of the universe. And maybe they have, but Frank thinks that everyone has to figure out their own secrets to the universe, so maybe their secret is knowing what they feel like. So Frank smiles back, because even if they didn't find the secrets to the universe, they're talking to Frank again and that's all he cares about.


End file.
